​

Stories From PEP

​This is the story of Abhidulla whose journey has been on an uncommon road. He belongs to a Muslim "Brohi" community.What happened to Abhidullah will always be a fatal tragedy to think of. But only few are courageous to see what lies beyond pain. And Abhidulla proved that.

My Childhood:"In my community, people hugely depend on livelihood for living. I was the shepherd of our livestock and as one day I was tending my sheep in the fields, I didn't notice a broken electricity wire until one of my sheep got hurt from it.

My sheep fell down and cried out. And, as soon as I got near my sheep, I tried to hold it from the ear to help stand. But as I touched the sheep, the current flowed in to me and I was thrown away by the current injuring myself completely.

This fatal accident would have killed anyone, but it was a miracle, and a curse that I survived. When I opened my eyes, I tried to move, but failed. I wasn't able to move my body because of pain. Another shepherd saw me and called for help, and in a little while I was rushed to the hospital by my parents where I was taken in to emergency. A few hours later the doctor told my parents that I had become disabled from my tongue, legs, and backbone."

Facing Challenge:"Being disabled in my childhood did bring a lot of hard times for me. I was 12 years old when I became disabled but that did not take away my playfulness, but when other children my age or older than me made fun of me, I felt ashamed. I was called by different names and as I grew, even people started calling me names.

I had lost all interest in going out, be it to the city, wedding, fair or meeting relatives. When I couldn't help my family anymore in the fields or by shepherding, they thought of me as useless and I was left all alone. At this time I became 16 year old teenager."

Encouragement and Motivation:"When I heard from one of our villagers that there is a school for disable children, I was surprised. How can there be a school for someone like me? and neither had I ever been to a school before. But, something sparked in me. I wanted to hear more about this school.

One of the elders of our village came to talk with my parents and tried hard to motivate them for sending me to school. They said that the PEP team came to our village and did a meeting about helping disable children and motivated them to enroll the children in school.

​While my parents were still thinking about the opportunity I noticed a change in the community's behavior. They were becoming positive because they started calling me by my real name. And after a month, I was enrolled in a PEP school."

In School:"When I started going to school, I was again teased by the students in class, but what encouraged me was the way our teacher took stand for me and through counseling motivated me to keep coming to school. Now that I come daily to school, the children have become used to seeing me, and some of them are even my friends."

​What I Want To Do With My Life?"I want to complete my education at PEP school, until then I will be able to read and write. After that I have plans to start my personal shop through my savings that I learned about in the 5th core element of Aflatoun "Social and Financial Enterprise."

My Deep Appreciation Who Believe That Disability Can Be Changed In to Ability:"I wonder if I wasn't disable, maybe I'd never go to a school and always be a shepherd. My disability, no matter how painful did teach me some valuable lessons. And I am thankful to PEP, who considered our need for help. I never felt the kind of respect that I can feel now, and the hope that I can do something has made me believe that I am valuable. What I am learning today through a PEP school are surely my blessings in disguise. "

Abhidullah is now 16 and is in class 1. His parents are farmers, and he has 5 brothers and 3 sisters of which he is on the 3rd number. Abhidulla is living in Sanghar.